Contents

Overview

The patron of warriors and the original sun god in Aztec mythology, Tezcatlipoca was knocked out of the sky by Quetzalcoatl who took his place. In the form of a jaguar, Tezcatlipoca became a shadow god and evil trickster who was ultimately defeated by Quetzalcoatl. On Earth, an organisation named the Q-Society was founded to prepare for Tezcatlipoca's return. The last of their champions, the super-hero known as Aztek, sacrificed his life in battle against the Mageddon the Anti-Sun, a doomsday weapon created by the Old Gods, and seemingly the 'Tezcatlipoca' the Society had awaited. Whether Mageddon was actually identical with the real Tezcatlipoca remains to be confirmed.

History

Tezcatlipoca ('smoking mirror') is the Aztec god of night and other things both dark and mystical. He has a mean, sadistic streak and enjoys 'f*cking with people on a personal level'.

Originally a sun god, Tezcatlipoca was knocked out of the sky by his brother Quetzalcoatl who took his place. Tezcatlipoca then became a shadow god and evil trickster. Ultimately, Tezcatlipoca was defeated by Quetzalcoatl, both for some reason utilising human vessels during a legendary showdown in the town of Tula in the 10th century AD. Tezcatlipoca had then possessed one of his own priests, mutated him into a jaguar man and started a wave of human sacrifices. His vessel killed, Tezcatlipoca vowed to one day return and end the world. As a direct result, the followers of Quetzalcoatl eventually founded the organisation Q-Society in order to prepare for the return of the shadow god. Grooming champions for centuries, the Society's ultimate goal was to create a vessel for Quetzalcoatl's power in the inevitable last battle against Tezcatlipoca.

Very little is known about his interaction with humans until modern times, when he was found working for Pain, (a servant of Desire of the Endless), who was tired of immortality and now attempted to end time and all of creation. Together with the demon Leatherette, Tezcatlipoca's job was to goad rock star Adam Case into destroying the world with his dormant powers. Somewhere along the line, Tezcatlipoca changed his mind about the apocalypse and set off with Leatherette to 'wreak some havoc' upon an unsuspecting world. [Mythos: The Final Tour #1-3 December-February (1996-97)]

Since then, Aztek, the champion of the Q-Society, has given his life in battle against what he saw as the ultimate shadow god, the ancient anti-sun Mageddon, harking from the days when the universe was still young. Whether this was the enemy Aztec was meant to fight all along, and whether Mageddon had any connection to Tezcatlipoca, remains unclear. [JLA #41 (May 2000)]

Even more recently, Chama Sierra struck a deal with the demon Neron to gain the powers and the name of Tezcatlipoca (II). Sierra became a jaguar being, but any claim to godhood is most likely false. The situation of this second Tezcatlipoca is similar to that of Azure, the girl who managed usurped the power of Huitzilopocthli, the Aztec god of war, but it is not known whether the new Tezcatlipoca’s deal with Neron affected the original Tezcatlipoca in any way. [Green Arrow Vol. 2 #102 (November 1995)]

Powers and Weapons

The full extent of Tezcatlipoca’s powers have not yet been revealed, but he is known to be a shapechanger. One of his most frequent shapes is that of the jaguar. Tezcatlipoca has also been known to possess human hosts. He possesses great skills in black magic and clairvoyance.